GORE ANNOUNCES NEW EMPOWERMENT ZONES TO HELP RURAL CITIZENS
NEW ORLEANS, La., April 16 -- Five new rural Empowerment Zones will be designated by President Clinton by Jan. 1, 1999, Vice President Al Gore announced today during an address to the National Conference of Black Mayors.
The rural Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities Initiative was launched by the Clinton Administration in 1994 to create jobs and business opportunities in economically distressed areas of rural America. Three rural Empowerment Zones and 30 rural Enterprise Communities were established that year.
"These new Empowerment Zones will provide additional opportunities for more of America's rural communities," Vice President Gore said. "In the first round, we created 61 new job-training centers, upgraded or built 78 health care facilities and built or improved 110 water and sewer systems in some of the nation's most economically distressed rural areas. With this second round, we will help many more rural Americans live in safe, affordable housing, participate in job training or youth development programs, and provide schools and children with access to the information superhighway."
Vice President Gore and Agriculture Secretary Dan Glickman also announced that $7.6 million has been allocated by USDA for eight new projects -- which range from construction of new rural water systems to the purchase of fire safety equipment -- in existing Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities in Louisiana, South Carolina, Mississippi and Kentucky.
Employers in existing Empowerment Zones qualify for special tax credits and receive increased tax exemptions when they purchase equipment. Businesses located in these communities are also eligible to receive tax-exempt bond financing to pay for expansion, renovation or land.
"As of last January, we had created or saved 9,944 jobs, trained 25,448 rural youths, supplied schools with 4,405 computers, and built or renovated 2,140 housing units in the nation's rural Empowerment Zones and Enterprise Communities," Glickman said. "The net result of these economic development activities has been a significant reduction in the unemployment rates in rural areas plagued by persistently high poverty rates."
A competitive application process will be used to select the new Empowerment Zones. Community leaders must develop a detailed strategic plan which shows how they will use the special federal assistance to create lasting benefits. Successful applicants will be eligible for a wide variety of federal assistance.
For more information on the Empowerment Zone program, contact the national office of USDA Rural Development at 1-800-851-3403.
Contacts:
Tom Amontree, (202) 720-4623
Jim Brownlee, (202) 720-2091